With only 22 years, Òscar Grau (Barcelona, 2004) has already established himself in a squad that aims to win all titles. After nine years training in the Barça youth academy, last summer he obtained his first-team contract. “I have been a Barça fan since I was little and for me it is a dream and a pride to wear these colors and this crest. I prefer to be here than anywhere else in the world. I am playing with players who a few years ago were my idols and I used to ask them for photos and autographs”, explains the Catalan from the Joan Gamper Sports City after finishing training. This Thursday (8:45 PM) the Blaugranas visit Nantes' court in the first leg of the EHF Champions League quarter-finals, the last round before returning to the final four in Cologne.

A bitter end to the cycle. Barça lost to Magdeburg with a cruel goal in the last second (30-31) and will not be able to play in the Champions League handball final against Füchse Berlin. Carlsbogard and Aitor Ariño, and Dika Mem's injury, left the Catalan team without a chance.

Zoran Cikusa, a former Serbian handball player from the 1980s, put down roots in Bordils, where his twin sons were raised. When they were barely able to walk, Petar and Djordje were already spending hours playing with a ball. Their energy led to the breaking of several televisions, as the little ones used the screen as a goal. A few years later, Catalan Petar Cikusa wants to help Barça close out another glorious cycle with another Champions League title.

Two young men play festive music in the street with a Casio electronic device in exchange for any donations from passersby. "When I was little, my parents already did it," explains Antonio García Robledo (Llagosta, 1984). He's 41 years old and still competing at the highest level. "Because I enjoy it so much, I couldn't wait to say it enough," he says to justify his retirement age. He'll do so when this season ends. We're in Pere Quart Square in Llagosta, in front of the apartment where he lived with his parents and where, as a child, he played soccer with friends after school at Les Planes School. A gigantic universe encompassed in just 50 meters.